Artificial eyes



Dec. 24, 1929. J. H. WILHELM ARTIFICIAL EYES Filed Feb. 10, 1928 INVENTOR. John H. WzZ/zelm 2.

Patented Dec. 24, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN H. WILHELM. OF LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO MABKON MANUFAC- TURING 00., INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK ARTIFICIAL EYES Application filed February 10, 1928.

This invention relates to artificial eyes adapted for various uses but particularly intended for use in toy figures such as dolls and the like. beiu of the general type shown and described in the pending application of Samuel Marcus. Serial No. 253,312.

An object of the present invention is to simplify, improve, render more practical of easy manufacture and to otherwise improve the structure illustrated in said Marcus application.

A more specific object is to provide an improved means for retaining in position the lens element employed, said means at the same time providing a simple and efficient backing for the lens.

A further object is to so design the eye that it will contain a definite indication of the desired position for the eye lid which may or may not be applied thereto.

A further object is to so design the eye that eve lashes may be readily applied thereto if desired.

A further and more specific object is to so design the eye that the iris and pupil forming lens elements thereof will not interfere with the formation of a slit at a proper point through the material of the eye to receive the eye lash member.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more. or less specific than those referred to above. will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations, ar-

rangements of parts and applications of principles constituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplated will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as a partof this specification, and in which I have shown merely a preferred form of embodiment of the invention Fig. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary central sectional view through a portion of an eye constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating in detached relation the several separate elements proposed for use according to this invention.

- opening as G Serial No. 253,286.

F ig. 3 is a plan view of the lens backing member employed, and

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view, on a reduced scale, of a complete eye, the position of an eye lid, and of an eye lash slot bemg indicated thereon by dotted lines, and

Fig. 5 is an edge view of the lens.

Referring to the drawings for describing in detail the eye structure illustrated therein, the reference character L indicates the main body or the shell of the eye. This shell is of a general spherical contour but is usually formed open at its rear side as is customary. At its forward side the material of the shell is cut away at one point so as to provide an adapted to receive the lens H therein.

The opening is of a size corresponding to the desired size of the iris of the eye and the lens is of a corresponding size to fit into said opening but is preferably formed with an an nular flange as 1 providing a forwardly facing ledge for resting against the inner surface portion of the shell L to thereby increase the surface contact between the lens and the shell, locate the outer surface of the lens in the spherical plane of the outer surface of the shell and prevent the lens from being displaced outwardly through the opening.

lVhile the opening G and the lens therein may be circular in contour in some instances it is a feature of this invention that if it is desired to provide the representation of an eye lid upon the eye or to provide eye lashes upon the eye, the opening and lens maybe made of a non-circular form at the upper edge, as clearly indicated at 2 and 3 in Fig. 2, thus leaving the material of the shell eX- tending downwardly into the plane of the normal circular contour of the lens, it being apparent that by these means if the eye lid forming material, such as paint or the like, he applied to the upper portion of the outer surface of the shell with its lower edge extending downwardly to the upper edge of the iris, as indicated by the dotted line 4 in Fig. 4. the lid will appear in the desirable position of overlapping the iris. Likewise if an eye lash member is applied to the eye by insertion through a slot of the eye after the manner suggested in the patent of Samuel Marcus, Patent No. 1,601,133, the slot for accommodating such an eye lash member may be formed through the material of the shell in that portion which projects within the circular outline of the lens, that is in the osition as indicated by the dotted line 5 in ig. 4, which also is at the lower edge of the eye lid indicated by the dotted line 4, the )osition for such a slot being also indicated by the dotted lines 4 and 5 in Fig. 1.

The pupil of the eye may be provided in any appropriate manner but is preferably in the form of a quantity of dark colored paint or wax as 6 contained within a cavity or recess 7 provided to receive it centrally of the rear surface of the lens.

Back of the lens there is a rearwardly convexing backing disc 8 of a diameter approximately the same as the lens, this disc being disposed concentric with the lens so that the peripheral portions of the lens and disc abut together and against the inner surface of the body L, being held in this position by a quantity of adhesive as 9 applied to the inner surface of the disc and to the adjacent portion of the body for holding the disc, and hence the lens against movement.

In instances where the disc and body are formed of celluloid a small quantity of acitone applied to the juncture between these parts will serve to fuse them inseparably together.

The lens may be formed of any appropriate material such as glass, celluloid, or the like, and if desired the joint between it and the body L may be cemented or fused, a small quantity of acitone being admirable for this purpose when the lens is made of celluloid.

Color for the iris of the eye may be provided in any manner but preferably consists simply in suitably coloring the outwardly facing surface of the backing disc 8 with concentric ring shaped parts of progressively darkening shade outwardly to the periphery of the disc, as indicated in Fig. 3.

In order to defuse and render irregular in appearance the lines of demarcation between the differently shaded rings of color on the backing 8 the inner or rear surface of the lens is preferably roughened or radially corrugated as at 10, said roughened surface, by its position spaced forwardly from the surface of the backing and visible only with a magnifying effect through the material of the lens, serves to give the appearance of great depth and life-likeness to the iris.

It is to be noted also that this appearance of depth is much enhanced by the hollow form of the disc, that is by having the central portion ofsaiddiscspaced away from the pupil forming material and by having the marginal edges of the pupil forming material serrated and thus made irregular in outline, as indicated at 11. The observer can see in an indefinite way, behind the pupil, the colorings of the backing disc 8 appearing however to project in irregular lines to the pupil, this because of the distortion and defusion occasioned b the effect of the corrugations 1(1.

The holl bw or concaved form of the disc, by separating the surfaces of the disc and lens from each other prevents any objectionable migration of the cementitions material 9, by capillary attraction, between these members during the time of assembling them.

In the manufacture of eyes as here shown it is simply necessary to provide a shell, as of celluloid, formed with an opening as seen in Fig. 2, place into said opening from within the shell a lens member, then place the backing disc 8 in position, and then apply the cement or fusing medium 9.

If the eye is to be provided with a lid this may be applied as for instance by dipping the eye into a coloring material or paint to the level indicated by the line 4 in the customary manner. If the eye is to be provided with an eye lash, a slot as indicated at 5 may he punched through the material of the backing disc 8 and body L and the eye lash be fastened therein.

The presence of the straight line or edge at the upper margin of the lens always serves to definitely locate the position for the eye lid and lash, so that the position of these parts in all eyes Will be uniform, and the operation of cutting or punching the slot requires no cutting of the material of the lens.

With respect to the illustration Fig. 4 the space or surface of the eye above the plane of line 4 may be understood as being the eye lid portion of the eye and as being coated with a suitable paint, thin sheet metal, or other material of appropriate color for this purpose, the space or surface of the eye below the plane of said line 4 and surrounding the iris being of whitish color to represent the white? of the eye.

The space lying between the lines 4 and 5 may be understood as representing either a slot as hereinabove described or as an actual eye lash member held within such slot.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An artificial eye comprising a body member of general spherical shape having an opening therethrough in the position for an iris, iris forming means visible through said opening comprising a lens member and a backing member, the lens member having a marginal edge portion resting against a rearwardly facing surface of the body, and the backing member being positioned behind the lens and having its marginal edge portion fixed to the body and engaging the lens whereby the backing member serves to retain the lens in position against said rearwardly facing surface of the body.

2. An artificial eye comprising a body member of general spherical shape having an opening therethrough in the position for an iris, iris forming means visible through said opening com )rising a lens member and a backing mem er, the lens member having a portion projecting through said opening and having a marginal flange portion forming a forwardly facing ledge engaging a rearwardly facing surface of the body to limit forward movement of the lens, and the backing member being positioned behind the lens and having'its marginal edge portion fixed to the body whereby the backing member serves to retain the lens in osition against said rearwardly facing sur ace of the body.

3. An artificial eye comprising a body member of general spherical shape having a circular opening therethrough in the position for an iris the upper edge wall of said opening being however relatively flattened to stand in a position coinciding with the approximate position of the lower edge of an eye lid, a lens member fitted into said opening, there being pupil and iris forming means visible through said lens member, and means by which to fix the lens member in position.

4. An artificial eye comprising a body member of general spherical shape having an opening therethrough in position for an iris, a circular lens member fitted into said opening, there being iris and pupil coloring means visible through said lens, an upper ed e portion of said lens being cut away and tiie marginal edge part of said opening being correspondingly shaped so that a portion of the body extends within the normal circular marginal contour of the lens to thereby de- {ine the position of the lower edge for an eye 5. An artificial eye comprising a body member of general spherical shape, and a separate iris forming lens attached thereto, said lens being of general circular contour but having its upper edge relatively flattened and disposed to stand in a position corresponding with the approximate position of the lower edge of an eye lid.

6. An artificial eye comprising a body member of general spherical shape, and a se arate iris forming lens attached thereto, said lens being of general circular contour but having its'upper edge'relatively flattened and disposed to stand in a position corresponding with the approximate position of'the lower edge of an eye lid, together with eye lid forming means carried by the body member having its lower edge extending Within the normal annular contour of the lens.

7. An artificial eye comprising a body member of general spherical shape having an opening therethrough, an iris forming lens member fitted into said opening, pupil form ing means visible through the central ortion of the lens, and a backing member xed within the body serving to hold the lens against displacement, said backing member having coloring material thereon visible through the lens to add color to the iris, and said backing member being concaved on its forward surface and thus spaced backwardly from that portion of the lense through which the iris color is visible.

8. An artificial eye comprising a body member of general spherical shape, a lens member, pupil forming means carried directly by the lense member at the central portion of the inner surface of said lens member, the body providing a differently colored surface visible through the lense and cooperative therewith as iris forming means, and said differently colored surface being spaced an appreciable distance backwardly away from said pupil forming means and from that portion of the lens through which said differently colored surface is visible.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN H. WILHELM. 

